At Sydney's Downing Centre, Alan Jones — once one of Australia's most powerful voices on radio — now stands before the law on 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching involving six men. A second complainant this week described an alleged kiss in a luxury hotel wardrobe, and years of intimate, unwanted messages that followed, held in silence by shame and the weight of social consequence. His testimony is one thread in a broader reckoning with how power, proximity, and fear can keep harm unspoken for years — until the culture itself begins to shift enough to make speaking possible.
Alan Jones trial hears allegations of unwanted kiss in hotel suite
Multiple men allege unwanted sexual contact and assault by Jones over years, causing emotional distress and delayed disclosure due to shame and social pressure.
I wouldn't want my name out there
Mark
Why did it take him so long to say anything? It sounds like decades passed.
Mimi
Shame, mostly. And the fear of being disbelieved or seen as attention-seeking. He was working for Jones at the time, so there was a power imbalance. Later, when he was out of that world, there was still the worry about his name being public, about what people would think of him.
Mark
The text messages seem important. They kept coming even after he left the job?
Mimi
Yes. Years of them. Messages saying "I miss you, love you darling." That's the thing—it wasn't just a single incident. It was a pattern of contact that made him feel obligated to stay connected, to keep Jones happy. He even felt pressure to invite him to his wedding.
Mark
And he only told people once he was already a father?
Mimi
Right. It took becoming a father, and then a specific conversation about #MeToo and whether victims were just chasing money, for him to finally say it out loud to his father-in-law. That's when it clicked for him that he needed to speak.
Mark
What changed when he talked to the journalists?
Mimi
He broke down. He said it was the first time he'd really articulated the details in full, not just in casual conversation. Thinking about his child at the time, it all hit him at once. The anger, the hurt, the years of silence.
Mark
Did he want his name public?
Mimi
No. He asked them not to use it. He said it was deeply embarrassing. Even now, testifying in court, he's identified only as Complainant C. The shame doesn't disappear just because you finally speak.
The Pulse
- A man known as Complainant C testified that Jones isolated him inside a walk-in wardrobe at Crown Towers Melbourne and kissed him without consent, an act C ended by physically pushing back and redirecting them both to safety.
- For years afterward, Jones allegedly sent messages describing love and longing, creating a dynamic C felt compelled to manage — even inviting Jones to his wedding to preserve the relationship and avoid professional fallout.
- Shame, fear of public exposure, and the social cost of being disbelieved kept C silent for nearly a decade, a silence only broken when a family member's dismissive comment about #MeToo victims made him feel he could no longer stay quiet.
- C's disclosure unfolded in stages — first to his father-in-law, then to broadcaster Ray Hadley, then to journalists Peter FitzSimons and Kate McClymont — each conversation drawing the story further into the open at personal emotional cost.
- The trial continues with more complainants expected to testify, while Jones maintains not guilty pleas across all 22 charges, and the court examines the complex power dynamics that shaped every interaction.
At Sydney's Downing Centre, Alan Jones — once one of Australia's most powerful voices on radio — now stands before the law on 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching involving six men. A second complainant this week described an alleged kiss in a luxury hotel wardrobe, and years of intimate, unwanted messages that followed, held in silence by shame and the weight of social consequence. His testimony is one thread in a broader reckoning with how power, proximity, and fear can keep harm unspoken for years — until the culture itself begins to shift enough to make speaking possible.
Alan Jones, the 85-year-old former Sydney radio broadcaster, is on trial at Downing Centre local court facing 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching involving six men. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
On Monday, a second complainant — referred to in court as Complainant C — described traveling to Melbourne for a sporting event with a friend, only to find himself alone with Jones inside a walk-in wardrobe at James Packer's personal suite at Crown Towers. Jones said "I've missed you" and kissed him. C pushed back with both hands and steered them back to the lounge room, saying nothing to his friend about what had occurred.
What followed, C testified, was years of intimate text messages from Jones — "I miss you very much, love you darling" — that created a pressure-laden dynamic he felt unable to escape. He invited Jones to his wedding partly to stay in the broadcaster's favor. The shame of the experience, and the fear of public exposure, kept him silent for a long time.
The silence broke during a conversation about the #MeToo movement, when C's father-in-law suggested that victims speaking publicly were motivated by money or attention. C told him then what Jones had done. His father-in-law apologized. C later told Ray Hadley at 2GB, and eventually spoke with journalists Peter FitzSimons and Kate McClymont — breaking down in tears during the latter conversation, thinking of his young child, and asking that his name never be used.
When shown flirtatious messages he had sent Jones over the years, C said he hated reading them, explaining he had written them to "curry favour" — a phrase that quietly illuminated the power imbalance at the heart of the case. The trial continues, with more complainants yet to testify.
Alan Jones, the 85-year-old former broadcaster who spent decades on Sydney radio, is standing trial on 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching involving six men. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. On Monday, a second complainant took the stand at Sydney's Downing Centre local court and described an incident that unfolded in the early 2010s inside James Packer's personal suite at Crown Towers in Melbourne.
The man, identified in court as Complainant C, had traveled to Melbourne for a sporting event with a friend. Jones invited both of them to his room for drinks, and they settled on a couch to watch Wimbledon while a butler brought them beer. At some point, Jones suggested he show C around the suite alone. C's friend remained in the lounge room as the two men walked deeper into the space. Once inside the walk-in wardrobe—which C described as "pretty big"—Jones said "I've missed you" and kissed him. C responded by pushing back with both hands against Jones's body and saying "Let's go back to [my friend]." Jones stopped, and they returned to the lounge room. C did not tell his friend what had happened.
What makes this incident part of a larger pattern, according to C's testimony, is what came after. For years following the alleged kiss, Jones sent him text messages that C characterized as romantic and intimate—messages along the lines of "I miss you very much, love you darling." C said he felt pressured to maintain the relationship, even inviting Jones to his wedding partly out of a desire to stay in his favor. The emotional weight of this dynamic became clear as C described the shame and fear that kept him silent for a long time.
C did not disclose what happened until years later, after he had left his job at 2GB radio. He told his father-in-law during a conversation about the #MeToo movement and Harvey Weinstein, when his relative made a comment suggesting that victims making public accusations were motivated by money or attention. "I said now is probably a good time to tell you that this is what Alan Jones did to me," C told the court. His father-in-law apologized. C explained to the judge that it was precisely this kind of skepticism and social pressure that had kept him quiet for so long. "I am now the father of your grandchild, and I wouldn't want my name out there," he said.
In October 2019, 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley mentioned to C that journalist Peter FitzSimons was researching a story about Jones. C opened up to Hadley, closing the office doors and describing some of what had happened. After agreeing to speak with FitzSimons on the condition of anonymity, C later broke down in tears when speaking with journalist Kate McClymont, using explicit language to express his anger and hurt. He was thinking about his young child at the time, and the weight of finally articulating the details in full—rather than in passing conversation—overwhelmed him. He asked McClymont not to use his name because "a lot of this stuff is deeply embarrassing."
When prosecutor Georgina Wright showed C some of the flirty messages he had sent to Jones over the years, C said he hated reading them. He explained that he had written those messages to "curry favour" with the broadcaster, a dynamic that speaks to the power imbalance at play. The trial before judge Glenn Walsh continues, with more complainants expected to testify.
Notable Quotes
I've missed you, and then kissed him— Complainant C, describing what Jones allegedly said and did in the hotel wardrobe
I pushed him back; he was very close to my body. I put two hands up and pushed him back. I said 'Let's go back to [my friend].'— Complainant C, describing his immediate response to the alleged kiss
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Crime & Justice